Art of ornamented knitted article manufacture



E. F. wlRTz ART OF ORNAMENTED KNITTED ARTICLE MANUFACTURE Filed Aug. 12, 1946 Sept. 23, 1947.

INVENTOR.

, rzazn/zz a Patented Sept. 23, 1947 ART OF ORNAMENTED KNITTED ARTICLE MANUFACTURE Emery F. Wirtz, Appleton, Wis., assignor to Zwicker Knitting Mills, Appleton, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application August 12, 1946, Serial No. 689,927

12 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in the art of ornamented knitted article manufacture, and more particularly to knitted articles of'wearing apparel having incorporated therein, through machine applied knitting, design configurations and areas simulating cable stitching, and to the method of producing the same.

A popular type of distinctive and appealing ornamentation so far as knit mittens, gloves, scarves, socks and the like are concerned, is socalled cable stitching, but heretofore, knitted fabrics for certain types of articles having cable stitching therein could only be practically produced through hand knitting methods. Of necessity, production of such articles is slow and expensive.

With the above in mind, the present invention provides for the expeditious, inexpensive commercial production of knitted articles having areas or extents of knitting therein, produced entirely by machine knitting, with said areas or extents forming in the finished articles areas or extents of knitting which to all intents and purposes, precisely simulate in appearance hand knit cable stitches.

A further object of the invention is to provide for the production of knitted articles of the type described wherein machine produced mock cable stitching, is, in the finished knitted fabric so interlocked with strands of the body fabric that the extents or areas of mock cable stitching are permanent and have an embossed appearance, there being no restrictions as to the size, shape or extent of the incorporated machine knit mock cable stitching.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an ornamented knitted article of the character described and method of producing the same wherein machine incorporated mock cable stitching is completely fashioned into and intermeshed With the knitted fabric proper and so' secured that it is enduring in character and of a nature which may be effected with the same weight and color of yarn used in the fabric proper or with yarn of a color and type which contrasts with that of the body fabric.

A further object of the invention is to provide a knitted article with machine fashioned mock cable stitchin therein, and the method of producing the same, which is simple, inexpensive and commercially expeditious, and which is well adapted for the purposes described.

With the above and other objects in View, the invention consists of the improved knitted article and method of producing the same, and its parts,

2 combinations and steps, as set forth in the claims and all equivalents thereof.

In the accompanying drawing in which the same reference characters indicate the same parts in all of the views:

Fig. l is a rear view of the outside of a knitted mitten, prior to completion, having incorporated therein machine-applied areas of stitching which, in the finished article, following additional production steps, produce an extent of mock cable stitching;

Fig. 2 is a view of the mitten shown in Fig. 1 turned inside out with threads applied to certain of the stitches which, when gathered, ultimately effect the cable stitching simulating extent;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view of a portion of the mitten in the condition of Fig. 2 showing the gathering stitches drawn together and secured so as to constrict certain areas of the extent which will effect the mock cable stitching;

Fig. 4 is a cross sectional view indicated on line 4-4 of Fig. 5; and

Fig. 5 is an outside view of the rear of a finished mitten showing the extent of mock cable stitching in the body fabric accomplished through the steps depicted in the previous views.

In the present invention the knitted fabric disclosed is of tubular seamless formation and is knit on a superimposed two cylinder knitting machine. The knitted fabric and method is applicable to many types of knitted articles as for instance, mittens, gloves, scarves, socks or similar'articles of wearing apparel. It will also be appreciated that the present method of knitting the article fabric with the mock cable stitching therein is subject to ordinary variations of machine operation, depending upon the character of the stitches utilized, type of yarn, and the siz and extent of the incorporated mock cable stitching, the latter being machine applied,

In the present exemplification, the invention has been shown as incorporated in a knitted mitten, but the invention is not to be limited thereto. In the manufacture of a mitten, according to the improved method, the mitten is knitted on a circular machine and so far as each individual mitten is concerned, the part first knit is the wrist portion 8 which is accomplished with any of the conventional forms of stitches particularly desirable for said portion. Upon completion of the Wrist portion, the machine knits the body portion 9 of the mitten. Said portion is knit with any of the conventional forms of stitching suitable for such extents of fabric. During the course of knitting of the body portion 9, at the proper points in the circular operation, the machine which is a Jacquard, or pin selector, links, links circular machine, operates to produce vertical series of oblique rows of raised stitch formations ID. The stitches I thus arranged in the diagonal rows are raised and given an embossed efiect, and are interlocked with the stitches of the body fabric 9. Preferably, such stitches are of a type to contrast with the stitches of the body fabric and may be of rib knitting, as shown.

The machine continues to knit the mitten in the manner described and in the exemplification shown, the raised oblique series of stitches ID are merely on that portion of the fabric which constitutes the back of the mitten, although this is optional and such series of stitches may be in single or multiple vertical panels positioned wherever desired. When the mitten is completely knitted, it is in the condition shown in Fig. 1 with the fabric being relatively stretched and unblocked and unsteamed. The next step is to turn the knit mitten inside out to expose the inside surface of that portion of the fabric which carries the vertical panel of oblique rows of stitching Ill. This arrangement of the mitten is depicted in Fig. 2. Thereupon, through a hand operation, short threads or strands II are sewed or passed under certain of the stitches Ill. The arrangement is such that a strand H is passed-under a stitch at the lower end of one diagonal row of stitching l9 and the same strand, passing horizontally or laterally also is engaged under an upper stitch of a contiguous diagonal row of the stitches If]. The various strands II are thus arranged at vertically "spaced apart points, as shown in Fig. 2. Thereafter, each strand H is gathered and centrally tied rather tightly so that it centrally constricts the stitches if] of the diagonal rows engaged thereby, producing the effect shown in Fig. 3 after said strands II have been gathered and tied and cut or trimmed.

Following the operations last described, the mitten is then turned to present its proper surface outermost and following a steaming and blocking operation, the finished mitten will appear, as in Fig. 5. The gatherings of the diagonal rows of stitches If] is accomplished on the inside of the mitten fabric, and hence the embossed panel accomplished by the stitches Ill gives the visual effect of cabling and at the constricted portions accomplished by the hand applied and gathered strands H, to all intents and purposes one curved line of stitches seems to pass ultimately under and over the other line of curved stitches. In the finished fabric the machine-applied m'ock cable stitching perfectly simulates genuine hand cable stitching but is produced through machine knitting very efficiently and expeditiously and hence results in the production of aninexpensive knitted fabric of a unique type.

It will be understood that changes may be made in the details of operation and construc tion without departing from the spirit of the invention, as contemplated by the appended claims.

What is claimed as the invention is:

1. A knitted fabric, consisting of a body portion having incorporated therein a series of lapping diagonally directed panels, adjacent ends of panels where they are lateral of an intermediate panel portion beinggathered together.

2. A knitted fabric, consisting of a body portion having incorporated therein a series of mutually lapping diagonally directed panels arranged so that opposite ends of alternate'panels lie on op- 4 posite sides of an intermediate panel, and means for gathering and constricting said ends of said alternate panels toward the intermediate panel.

3. A knitted fabric, consisting of a body portion having incorporated therein a series of mutually lapping diagonally directed panels arranged so that opposite ends of alternate panels lie on opposite sides of an intermediate panel, and means on the underside of the fabric for gathering and constricting said ends of said alternate panels toward the intermediate panel. l. A knitted fabric, consisting of a body portion having incorporated therein an alined series of lapping diagonally directed panels arranged so that opposite ends of alternate panels lie on opposite intermediate side portions of an intermediate panel, and spaced gathering strands applied to said ends of said alternate panels to draw the same toward said intermediate panel and toward each other.

5. A knitted fabric, consisting of a body portion of plain knitting and having incorporated therein an alined series of lapping diagonally directed panels of raised stitch formations and arranged so that opposite ends of alternate panels lie on opposite intermediate side portions of an intermediate panel, and spaced gathering strands applied to said ends of said alternate panels to draw the same together and into said intermediate panel.

6. A knitted fabric, consisting of a body portion of plain knitting and having incorporated therein an alined series of lapping diagonally directed panels of raised stitch formations and arranged so that opposite ends of alternate panels lie on opposite intermediate side portions of an intermediate panel, and spaced gathering strands applied to said ends of said alternate panels on the underside of the fabric to draw the same together and into said intermediate panel.

7. The method of producing a knit fabric, which consists of knitting a body portion and incorporating in the body portion contiguous diagonally directed series of raised stitch formations, all of which are parallel, and subsequently transversely constricting longitudinally separated portions of the raised stitch series to produce on the outside of the fabric a cabled effect.

8. The method of producing a knit fabric, which consists of knitting a body portion circularly and during the progress thereof incorporating in said body portion contiguous, parallel diagonallydirected series of raised stitch formations, and subsequently applying gathering stitches to the underside of the fabric at, longitudinally separated portions of the raised stitch series, to produce on the outside of the fabric a cabled effect.

9. The method of producing a knit fabric, which'consists of .knitting a body portion and incorporating V in the body portion contiguous, parallel diagonally directed'panels of raised stitch formations with opposite ends of alternate panels lying on opposite intermediate side portions of their intermediate panel, applying gathering strands to said pairs of panel ends to draw the same toward each other'and into said intermediate panel.

10. The method of knitting a tubular fabric on a circular knitting machine, which consists of knitting a tubular body portion with aplain stitch and during the annular knitting of the body fabric at predetermined points automatically changing from the plain stitch to a ribstitch in a manner to produce lengthwise'in the fabric an embossed panel consisting of series of rows of ribbed stitches with each series producing a diagonally extending welt, then turning the tubular fabric inside out and gathering together portions of adjacent welts, and finally turning the fabric to its original position wherein the extent of ribbed stitching with the points of gathering therein simulates cable stitching,

11. The method of knitting a tubular fabric on a circular knitting machine, which consists of knitting a tubular body portion with a plain stitch and during the annular knitting of the body fabric at predetermined points automatical- 1y changing from the plain stitch to a rib stitch in a, manner to produce'lengthwise in the fabric an embossed area consisting of lapping panels of rows of ribbed stitches with each panel forming a diagonally extending welt, then turning the tubular fabric inside out and gathering together opposite ends of alternate panels where the same lie on opposite intermediate side portions of an intermediate panel, and finally turning the fabric to its original position wherein the extent of ribbed stitching with its points of gathering simulates cable stitching.

12. The method of knitting a tubular fabric on a circular knitting machine, which consists of knitting a tubular body portion with a plain stitch and during the annular knitting of the body fabric at predetermined points automatical- 1y changing from the plain stitch to a rib stitch in a manner to produce lengthwise in the fabric an embossed area consisting of lapping panels of rows of ribbed stitches with each panel forming a diagonally extending welt, then turning the tubular fabric inside out and applying spaced. gathering strands to those ends of alternate panels which lie on opposite intermediate side portions of an intermediate panel to draw said ends together and into said intermediate panel, and finally reversing said fabric to its original position and performing finishing operations thereon.

EMERY F. WIRTZ.

Name Date Bialostok Nov. 25, 1941 Number 

